Manchester United Wins 2-1 at West Brom to Keep Lead in Premier League

By Christopher Elser -
Jan 1, 2011

Manchester United got goals from Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez to win 2-1 at West Brom and
keep its lead atop English soccer’s Premier League. Manchester
City beat Blackpool 1-0, and Arsenal won 3-0 at Birmingham.

Rooney scored in the third minute, and the hosts evened the
match about 10 minutes later on a goal from James Morrison.
Peter Odemwingie missed a penalty that would have given West
Brom the lead, allowing Hernandez’s 75th-minute to settle the
match.

The result gives United 41 points, even with Manchester
City, which has played two more matches. United leads on goal
difference, with Arsenal in third place with 39 points.

“It’s a massive result for us,” United coach Alex Ferguson said on Sky Sports. “Over the years we’ve had to
battle out games and we have had to do that today.”

City defeated Blackpool 1-0 at home after an Adam Johnson
goal in the 34th minute. City captain Carlos Tevez, returning
from injury, missed a first-half penalty. The winners kept pace
with United, which has a goal difference of 23, compared with
City’s 17.

At Birmingham, Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri scored and
defender Roger Johnson knocked the ball into his own net. The
win allows Arsenal to stay in third place, and the home side
falls into the relegation zone.

‘Deserved to Win’

“We have shown physical qualities and mentally we kept
calm too,” Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger told the British
Broadcasting Corp. “We kept playing our game, by getting the
ball down on the floor. In the end we deserved to win.”

Arsenal hosts City in four days, while United plays Stoke
at Old Trafford a day earlier.

At Liverpool, the Reds won 2-1 on a second-half injury-time
goal from Joe Cole to defeat Bolton. Fernando Torres scored in
the 49th minute after Kevin Davies put the visitors ahead late
in the first half. Tottenham defeated Fulham 1-0 at White Hart
Lane on a goal from Gareth Bale, who scored for the 11th time
this season.

Stoke defeated Everton 2-0 at home, while Sunderland was a
3-0 winner over Blackburn. West Ham defeated last place
Wolverhampton to jump to 15th.